The second week of the hands on form clinic which Kyle promised to be the more difficult did not disappoint. The first week at the track we worked on upper body form which was pretty easy to pick up on and to feel if you were doing in right or not.

True to his word, Kyle did not let us down and give us more easy work. All I can say is that I did not start off looking like a rose, and I am not sure there is even an ugly flower that would be a good comparison with what I looked like.

We started off the evening with drills and everyone was given the time to once again get comfortable with what would be the stepping stones of the work we had in front of us. Following the warm up Kyle O’Day from Continuum Sports took center stage and demonstrated the lower body form that we would be working on. It looked easy enough while he was demonstrating it, however once we started to attempt to put it to the test things fell apart rather quickly.

It has been a long time since I have run a distance that I would previously call a long run. My running has recently been cut back so much that I affectionately referred to even a three mile run as a “Long Run” not too long ago.

It doesn’t seem too long ago that I would talk about 10 miles like it was no big deal, even priding myself that I was perpetually in half marathon fitness – but then life happened. Work and then ultimately injury stepped into the picture and I found myself sitting instead of running, even to the point that I went more than just a few days or weeks without lacing up for a single run.

Some people think they have near perfect running form and can be found talking about it all the time, while others haven’t even thought about it at all. There is, however, a third group of runners that I like to think I can most closely relate to – those that think about running form and try to do the right thing, but are not quite sure if they are getting it completely right.

This third group of runners may read books, magazines, and blogs and think they understand, but without a knowledgeable individual giving an honest assessment they can never be completely sure they are correctly implementing what they have understood from their research. This is where I have found myself for so many years. I am proud of what I do know, but truth be told I have a lot to learn.

Running Form is not something I have given a lot of thought to up until now. Sure I have tried to relax and pay attention to my stride, but it has always been a passing thought and something I convinced myself was other runners problems, and not mine.

Previously, when thinking about running form, it was always with how it related to my speed and premature fatigue during long runs, and yet I rarely questioned if it had anything to do with any of my recent injuries. In my mind, injury has always been associated with overtraining or shoe choice. The only time I ever have related injury with form has been with extreme form issues, which I have always convinced myself I do not suffer from.

The much anticipated weekend for many Atlanta runners has arrived as The North Face Endurance Challenge arrives with it’s flurry of races. Since this is only the second year the challenge will make it’s way to Atlanta I am sure there will be many who will be running it for the first time. F.D Roosevelt State Park in Pine Mountain will no doubt be the place to be for Trail Runners and Ultra Distance Runners from more than just the surrounding area.

This race was on my list for some time, but with my recent injury and lack of mileage lately I dropped it from my calendar. A recent email prompted me to rethink that, but unfortunately I was not quick enough to get registered in time to join in the excitement.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post about the 13.1 Atlanta race, I was lucky enough to meet up with Barefoot Runner Michael Sandler before the race. Michael didn’t run the race because of some extensive traveling he is doing for his recent book launch, but he still ran up to me in his bare feet on Sunday morning in Town Brookhaven.

It was fun to talk to Michael about barefoot running and some of the more interesting and difficult barefoot runs he has had. One race he mentioned was one that he and a barefoot running group ran through some horrible road conditions. Because the road was rough they all decided to hit the grass on the side of the road only to find that the grass was full of cactus and then so were their feet.

I once again was able to enjoy the 13.1 Atlanta, however this year was a little different than the previous two years. I was really looking forward to running this year and trying out the new course, but alas it was not meant to be. It is crazy how fast you can lose fitness while injured and eating too much, I just wish I didn’t know so much about it.